News: Recycled water for Orange, NSW

For the first time in Australia, harvested stormwater has been directed into a local community’s drinking water supply, to help maintain future reserves. Orange City Council, situated 258km west of Sydney, got the go ahead to pump 14 megalitres of treated stormwater into Suma Park Dam this week, after test results concluded that the water was safe to consume.

The water was tested by Analytical Laboratory Services, an independent laboratory based in Sydney, and met all the mandatory standards set for over 90 possible pollutants. The $5 million stormwater harvesting scheme was conducted using two days' worth of water supply.

The Suma Park Dam, which has a holding capacity of 18,000 megalitres will receive 1300 megalitres of water through the recycling program, to support Orange’s current annual water consumption of 5000 megalitres.

Image shows Orange Mayor Reg Kidd (at left) and Orange City Council's Director of Technical Services Chris Devitt at the site where the harvested stormwater is released into Suma Park Dam.